Willamette Stone - Portland, OR - Great Lines of Earth on Waymarking.com

The Willamette Stone marks the intersection and origin of the Willamette meridian and Willamette baseline, which defined the grid system of sections and townships from which all real property in the states of Oregon and Washington has been measured following the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. The Willamette meridian runs north-south, and the Willamette baseline runs east-west through the marker.

The location of the original stone is now indicated by a stainless steel marker in Willamette Stone State Heritage Site, an Oregon state park approximately four miles (6.4 km) west of downtown Portland. The site is near Skyline Boulevard, in the West Hills overlooking the Tualatin Valley and the Willamette River watershed.

The grid defined by the stone extended the Public Land Survey System and was used as the basis of land claims in the Oregon Territory. The first marker, a red cedar stake, was placed on the site on June 4, 1851, by John B. Preston, the first Surveyor General of the Oregon Territory. Preston was appointed by President Millard Fillmore to create a system for surveying land in the territory; he lost his position in 1853, and "drifted into obscurity." The location was chosen such that the baseline would not cross the Columbia River and the meridian would lie west of Vancouver Lake. The meridian and baseline were surveyed using solar compasses by James E. Freeman of Wisconsin and William Ives of Michigan. Ives surveyed the baseline in both directions and the meridian to the north; Freeman surveyed the meridian to the south. The grid system was an extension of the system used in the Northwest Territory proposed by Thomas Jefferson. The Willamette Stone marked the location of the first townships and ranges north and south of the marker.

The stake was replaced by a stone obelisk on July 25, 1885. On two sides, the stone was marked with the words "BASE" and "LINE", while on the other two sides it was marked with the words "WILL." and "MER." The stone was vandalized in the 1980s and replaced with the current marker, as well as an accompanying bronze plaque: "Beginning here, the Willamette meridian was established running north to Puget Sound and south to the California border, and the baseline was established running east to the Idaho border and west to the Pacific Ocean."

Line type: Historical meridian Tolerance: 0 If other type, please explain.: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/14/2022 Mrs&Mrs pdx visited it 08/10/2016 DougK wrote comment for it 12/18/2015 NW_history_buff visited it 08/05/2014 BlueMoth visited it 01/13/2014 dkestrel visited it 01/13/2014 DocDTA visited it 10/12/2013 SpockProf visited it

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